In 2005, a little girl very close to me was in a situation that caused me to fear for her life. After many calls to try to rectify the situation, I finally decided to write a letter to the Chief of Police.
Wanting to give him examples of what I feared, I did some research and came across the story of Tesslynn O’Cull. The horror of what this precious little girl went through was unbearable, unbearable to the point of death, so unbearable I could not read everything more of that happened to her.
Tesslynn changed how I look at life. Before, the pain of hearing about child abuse might’ve lasted a few hours, or days, and then I’d try to block the terrible incident out of my mind. Nothing can ruin a day more than hearing about how some child was tortured and killed.
At the time, I was working on my novel about a girl who was abused. It’s true, none of us want to hear about child abuse, but it’s happening at this very moment. And I for one, need to think about it, everyday. None of us can dwell on it every moment, or it will kill us. Although, if we’re not aware, how else do we become inspired to help?
On hearing a story about the torture and murder of a child, sometimes the reaction is that we can’t save the world, or that it’s too depressing to think about.
Well, for one fleeting moment, visualize sweet little Tesslynn being tied to a chair and burned with a meth pipe screaming for hours with no one to help.
We will never know how many children have been, and will be saved by organizations meant for rescuing these little ones.
JASPER MOUNTAIN, who began as SCAR when I first came to learn about them, is very special to my heart.
Hope Ranch:
Most of us have heard of sex trafficking by now. Until just the last few years, a lot of us were unaware that it is going on in the United States, sometimes in our own back yards. My sister, Diana Janz, has a story to tell of how she came to start a non-profit organization called Hope Ranch. It’s a great eye-opening web site. Check it out.